The 10 best beach holidays in Europe for families with babies and toddlers

Babies and toddlers love a good beach – there’s so much to explore, so much to do! From digging for hours to taking their first tentative steps into the sea, watching a young child on the first beach holiday is a joy.

When travelling with such young children, you want flights to be relatively short, amenities to be easy to access, and you always need a back-up plan: for most parents, this is the time to play it safe.

While we love the beaches of Croatia, we’ve left their shingled expanses off the list below. Instead, we’ve selected our favourite sandy beaches with shallow, calm waters that will allow your children to explore – and allow you some time to relax, too.

1. Salema, Algarve, Portugal

While much of the southern coastline of the Algarve has been built up, the far western end remains unspoilt and is a protected area of natural beauty. The tiny town of Salema sits just a few minutes off the main N125 road that runs along the Algarve, and is dotted with small whitewashed houses with blue trim (to ward off evil spirits).

Salema sits in an unspoilt end of the AlgarveCredit:
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED/PAWEL KAZMIERCZAK

Salema’s half-mile-long beach, with its sugar-fine, golden sand, has a Blue Flag certification. The sea is ideal for young swimmers, because it lacks the strong waves of the west coast. The crystal-clear waters bring small shells to wander over, and even at high tide there is a good margin of sand to dig your toes into.

When you tire of the sea, track the remarkable dinosaur footprints embedded in the limestone rocks or admire Salema’s old-world charm by watching fishermen who still bring their daily catch up onto the beach. The local agency Salema Property Services offers a variety of villas to rent, from luxurious ones with a pool to charmingly renovated, one-bedroom fishermen’s houses on the beachfront.

2. Praia do Barril, Algarve, Portugal

On the quieter eastern side of the Algarve, Praia do Barril has plenty of attractions for toddlers. First there is the miniature train which takes you there: eight minutes or so across the bird-filled marshland and out to the island (Ilha de Tavira) where the beach is located.

A graveyard of anchors at Praia do Barrill

Then, at the entrance of the beach, there is a beautiful anchor graveyard that resembles an art installation. Here, hundreds of rusty anchors are arranged in neat rows as a memorial to the tuna-fishing industry, which used to thrive on this part of the Algarve. These anchors were used to hold the huge tuna fishing nets in place before the stocks declined.

The beach is well-maintained and the former fishing facilities along it have been converted into restaurants, shops and cafés. The Atlantic seems warmer here than anywhere else, making it good for a toddler’s toes. Do note that the westernmost side of the large Praia do Barril is home to a naturist beach - which may be a draw or a deterrent. .

3. Es Grau, Menorca, Spain

On the north-east coast of Menorca, just six miles from the capital, the shallow water of Es Grau beach is ideal for small children; the Mediterranean stays at shin level for about 130ft out to sea, like a gigantic spa pool of duck-egg-blue water. A fence consisting of nothing more than a single rope tied around wooden posts divides the beach at Es Grau from the low dunes of the S’Albufera des Grau nature reserve.

Sprawling up the north-eastern coast of the island, this wetland area around a 1.25 mile-long lake, S’Albufera, is the main reason why Menorca was made a Unesco Biosphere Reserve more than two decades ago, a happy decision that has saved most of the island from excessive development.

Homeaway offers a range properties in and around Es Grau, including a one-bedroom apartment (sleeps four) in the village. From £284 per week (homeaway.co.uk).

4. Ribadesella, Asturias, Spain

It’s a well-guarded secret that Spain’s most beautiful beaches are tucked away on its untamed and unspoilt northern coast. Nowhere does this ring truer than in dramatic Asturias, where bold rocky cliffs cascade down into the wild waters of the Bay of Biscay, the jagged Picos de Europa soar up just a few miles inland, and sandy strands entice surfers and sunbathers alike.

The friendly fishing town of Ribadesella is a favourite retreat of well-versed Spanish families, particularly those entertaining young children. Shady spots are lacking though, so pack the beach brolly. Spaniards have long been in on the local scope and, come summer, seek out the sun on the 200-plus beachy coves sprinkled along this superb, emerald coastal stretch.

If you get antsy on the beach, you’re within a mile of the World Heritage-listed Cueva de Tito Bustillo, embellished with some of Spain’s most magnificent prehistoric cave art. Villa Rosario has grand, comfortable rooms and great breakfast spreads in a turreted 1914 mansion overlooking the beach. Book into the original manor rather than its modern sister block across the road.

5. Port de Sóller, Majorca, Spain

If you’re after a bit of luxury for yourself, and travelling with a toddler, Port de Sóller is an excellent choice. A traditional Majorcan town near the sea, circled by the imposing Tramuntana mountains and surrounded by dense woodland, it has a wonderful, safe beach for small kids – in fact, it’s the only sandy beach on Majorca’s west coast.

The Majorcan coastlineCredit:
bortnikau - Fotolia/Andrei Bortnikau

This is a terrific area for walking, cycling or exploring villages and the coastline by car. Set on the edge of a cliff overlooking the Mediterranean, with views of pretty Port de Sóller, Jumeirah Port Sóller Hotel & Spa consists of 11 white, low-rise buildings stretching up the hillside on various levels for half a mile, with three outdoor pools and plenty of places to sit and take in the view.

Although there is no doubt that this is a very smart establishment, the hotel has a relaxed feel, helped by the use of soothing natural tones and fabrics. It also has an excellent spa, as well as outdoor yoga and pilates sessions.

6. St Jean de Luz, Pyrénées-Atlantiques, France

Arrive at the sun-roasted beach at St Jean de Luz and you know the family holiday has come right. Here’s a story-book curve of sand, headland to headland, with gentle shelving and waves unlikely to endanger your five-year-old. There’s great Atlantic surfing up and down this Basque coast, but not right here, where things are far more tranquil, with beach clubs tailored for tots. Fronting the beach, distinguished family houses boast no suggestion of commerce.

Behind, St Jean is the thinking person’s Biarritz: all the Basque character – pelota courts, great white homes trimmed with red woodwork, honest surf-and-turf food – with less of the glam. It’s unbeatable, and perhaps best tackled en famille from an apartment.

British regional specialists Alternative Aquitaine offer contemporary two-bedroom flats created from a town-house. They’re moments from the centre and 100 yards from the beach. They’ve got all you need, including cots and high-chairs.

7. Ugento, Puglia, Italy

Chuckle if you like at the “antistress resort” slogan of the Vivosa Apulia hotel at the southernmost tip of Puglia, but spend some time here – even with your toddler – and you’ll return refreshed. This upscale, all-inclusive resort consists of a series of low-rise housing scattered in olive groves, just a short stroll through pine forest to the sea, around 3.5 miles from Ugento’s national park, and five miles from Torre Pali – 16th-century coastal towers.

But you may not feel inclined to leave the main campus: there are separate pools for toddlers, kids and grown-ups – with even an adults-only soaking pool at the sleek spa.

Otranto in PugliaCredit:
Freesurf - Fotolia

There is also a lively kids’ club, which takes children from age four – but childminding can be arranged individually for younger kids. The majority of guests are Italian or German, which may affect your child’s club experience, but the staff are multilingual and friendly.

The good-quality buffet food may mean that you can happily stay put for a week, shuffling between naps on loungers in an olive grove, and relaxing on the private beach – which is lively in the crowded summer months. There’s also a golf course (lessons are available), a fitness centre and tennis courts, as well as evening entertainment.

8. Gerakas beach, Zakynthos, Greece

Gerakas beach is the ideal spot for a family on Zakynthos. People come from all over the island to wander its glorious, gently sloping shores.

If your child is portable, you can explore Zakynthos, where you'll find the beautiful Shipwreck beachCredit:
Getty

But it is just a couple of hundred yards’ walk from the Periyali villas, so you can wander down after the fiercest heat of the day has gone and the hordes are packing up. This is the best time to take children, and you can even load up a buggy and trundle it down a ramp to the firm sands.

If you have a parasol, you will be directed to one part of the beach in order not to skewer turtle eggs – in late May and June, loggerheads haul themselves out the sea in the middle of the night to nest. Come two months later in the season, and you might see the babies hatch and flip-flop their way back to the sea.

Periyali villas, a cluster of 11 self-contained two- and three-bedroom villas, is one of two small resorts run by Simpson Travel in Greece that come equipped with a nursery for children aged six months to 10 years.

A week in a villa costs from £633 per person, based on four sharing, including flights, car hire and seven nights’ self-catering accommodation, travelling in June (simpsontravel.com). Childcare costs per week, per child are: £145 for half-day and £230 for full-day.

9. Bousoulas, Halkidiki, Greece

Make your first holiday-with-baby as stress-free as possible, opting for an award-winning family-friendly resort in Greece. Sani, in Halkidiki, has a crèche and clubs open to children aged four months to 17 years, plus its unique Babewatch service on the beach – so you can then drop your child with nannies while you go for a proper dip in the sea.

With three hotels, three beaches, a spa, marina and 18 restaurants on-site, there is no need for a car.

ITC Luxury Travel (itcluxurytravel.co.uk) offers a seven-night stay at Porto Sani Village (read the full hotel review here), including return economy flights with easyJet from London Gatwick, and transfers, from £2,559 per family of three, based on two adults sharing an upper-floor garden-view suite on a half-board basis.

10. Patara, Turkey

For more adventurous parents, this broad strip of gently shelving white sand in south-west Turkey is the country’s longest beach, and it is ideal for children, who will love its warm shallows and the serried ranks of dunes backing it.

Should you tire of beach life, there’s the Lycian Way to walk (best avoided in the heat of summer), birds to watch, canoeing and rafting on the nearby Dalaman river – plus bustling local markets, secluded mountain villages and remote ancient sites within easy reach.

Development at the beach’s beautiful south-eastern end has been confined to one reasonably priced café with umbrellas and sunbeds for hire, reached through the remains of a Roman city preserved in the shifting sands. No tour companies operate in Patara, so everything is independent.

Stay at the low-key Patara Viewpoint hotel, set around a pool on a quiet, leafy hillside behind the ruins; friendly owners offer free rides to and from the beach and a weekly barbecue.